The $200,000-a-Year Nanny

According to an article in The Times of London by Fiona Neill, the mega-rich Russians, Sheikhs and Chinese pouring into London in recent years have jacked up the cost of a British nanny. A British staffing agency called Imperial Nannies cited a Russian client who wanted to poach a nanny from another family. Their salary offer: $200,000 a year.

Then there was the Imperial Nanny client with three kids who employed a nanny for each child — at around $130,000 a year … per nanny.

These aren’t the norm, of course. More typical in Britain are salaries of $75,000 a year – with free room and board. Usually that means a “a flat that is self-contained or on a separate floor, or at least a room with en-suite bathroom — in a desirable Central London borough, and almost always includes a car,” according to the article.

Some British nannies specify that they only fly business class — though many have use of the family planes. One nanny was given a new wardrobe by her Italian employer, while another was given a house by her Saudi patrons.

According to Imperial, the financial crisis hasn’t hurt demand for top nannies, because the super-rich haven’t been effected by the crisis (or so it goes). The big demand is for teachers-turned-nannies, who can help the kids with increasingly demanding school work.

Yet according to a British “manny” (male nany) named “Nick,”all that costly coddling can work out better for the nannies than the rich kids. The wealthy parents, he said, give too little time and attention to their kids.

“There is as much neglect at the top end of the market as there is at the bottom,” he told the Times. “The children are materially well off but emotionally neglected. These mums and dads are never there and they assuage their guilt by paying other people to look after them as much as possible.”

Looks like it’s better to be a well-paid nanny than an attention-starved rich kid.